As the sports world turns

Where's a sports fan supposed to turn to now?
Dogfighting and doping, gambling and game-fixing, cheating the system and cheating the fans.
Michael Vick, Alexandre Vinokourov, Barry Bonds, Tim Donaghy, "Pacman" Jones, "Tank" Johnson, the Cincinnati Bengals. And all the while, we are left to sit here to contemplate exactly what the hell has happened. Every sport seems to be imploding at all once. Yogi Berra once said: Ninety percent of the game is half mental. I think we can modify that to say: Ninety percent of the game is half controversy.
If NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman is smart, he'll seize this opportunity to grab some fans looking for a sport not mired in a scandal. I can see the marketing campaign now: "Watch the NHL. Our players don’t electrocute dogs." Or perhaps Major League Soccer can have David Beckham make a public-service announcement: "Come on America, no one is watching soccer, so no one is betting on it. Our games aren’t fixed. We put on a bloody good show." The segment could end with Victoria "Posh Spice" Beckham in a skimpy outfit embracing her man. Hey, sex still sells.
I’ll bet (OK, maybe not bet; bad word to use now) baseball Commissioner Bud Selig is exhaling just a little bit. Wherever he is, whether he's at AT&T Park or not, Bud has to be smiling, even if it's just on the inside. Barry Bonds, 755 and steroids? That scandal is so last week.
It's all about former NBA referee Tim Donaghy and whether his gambling on games he officiated affected the outcome. Oh, and by the way, he allegedly had some sort of relationship with the mob, so what do you think?
As reported in Newsday, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, the average number of free throws attempted in an NBA game last season was 52.2. During the 2006-07 season, Donaghy officiated eight games in which at least 72 free throws were attempted. Of those eight games, six had final scores exceeding the over/under by an average of 26.8 points. And according to Covers.com, 43 of the 73 games he officiated hit the over, the third-highest percentage in the league. Hmmm … .
At a news conference Tuesday, NBA Commissioner David Stern said, "Mr. Donaghy is the only referee alleged to have bet on NBA," adding, "I'll say it again, I understand this is an isolated case." You know, David, it better be, because if one more ref is even accused, you might as well cancel next season.
The worst part about this is it turns out that Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban was right. My God, and you thought he was unbearable before, just imagine what he's going to do the next time a bad call goes against Dirk Nowitzki. The man who had been fined for saying the game is "rigged" may want to ask for his money back.
Even NFL head honcho Roger Goodell has to be feeling a little better. Stories about electrocuting dogs, slamming them against the ground, rape stands, pry bars and fight pits got pushed to the side by the NBA.
Maybe Goodell and Selig are giving Stern a big chunk of change to take the heat off of them. Now, wouldn’t that be a controversy?